Carport Removal in Boise: Metal, Wood, and What's Left Behind

A lot of our calls about carport removal in Boise sound the same. The carport leans a little further after every windy week. One corner is propped up with a spare 4x4, and the owner just wants to park without flinching.

Nobody gets excited about tearing one down. It's rusted, a storm bent it, or you're finally building a real garage and it's in the way.

Here's what the job actually looks like, based on the ones we've done from the North End out to Nampa.

Metal or wood? It changes the whole job

Most carports we see around Boise, Meridian and Nampa fall into two camps.

The first is the prefab metal carport. Steel or aluminum tubing and a corrugated metal roof, bolted to the ground or to a slab. Once the roof panels are off, these come apart fast. The frame either unbolts or gets cut into pieces that fit in the truck.

The second is the wood-framed carport. Usually a previous owner built it, and a lot of the time it's tacked onto the side of the house. Think of a small deck with a roof on it: posts, beams, rafters, sometimes shingles. More pieces, more nails, and a lot more weight.

So which one takes longer? Wood, almost every time. A simple metal carport can be down and hauled off in a couple of hours. A wood one attached to the house takes more care, because we're working right up against your fascia, gutters and siding.

Is it attached to the house?

That's the first thing we ask on every carport estimate.

A freestanding carport is simple. We take it apart, load it up, and we're done.

An attached carport is tied into the house with a ledger board or brackets. Once that comes off, you'll see whatever's been hiding behind it for years. Sometimes it's clean siding. Sometimes it's a strip of unpainted wall, old bolt holes, or soft wood where water sat for fifteen winters.

We pull the ledger carefully and we'll tell you straight what we find. Just go in knowing that wall might need a little patching or paint afterward.

Heads up: If there's a light, outlet or motion sensor on your carport, get it disconnected by an electrician before demo day. We can help set that up, but nobody should be cutting through a post that still has a live wire running up it.

Carport removal in Boise: what about the anchors and slab?

Once the carport's gone, you're left with whatever it was sitting on.

Plenty of metal carports are held down with long ground stakes or bolted into concrete. Stakes get pulled. Bolts get cut flush, so you're not tripping over them or catching a tire.

Wood carports usually have posts set in concrete footings or sitting on piers. Those can stay, get cut down to grade, or get dug out completely. It really depends on what you're putting there next.

Then there's the slab. If your carport sat on a concrete pad, you've got a choice. A lot of people keep it as a parking pad, an RV spot or the base for a future shed. Others want it broken out so they can put down lawn or gravel.

Neither answer is wrong. Just decide before we show up so the estimate covers everything you want done.

Do you need a permit for carport removal in Boise?

There's no single rule for all of Idaho. Each city and county building department sets its own, and Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Eagle and Canyon County all handle it a little differently.

A small freestanding carport often doesn't need much. A bigger one, or one tied into the house, is worth a quick check with your city first.

If you've got an HOA, ask them too. Some HOAs care less about the teardown and more about what's left on the lot afterward.

When permits or utility disconnects are part of the job, we take care of that side of it. You shouldn't have to spend your lunch break on hold with a city office.

What it costs and how long it takes

We price demolition the same way we price junk removal: by volume. How much truck space the frame, the roofing and any concrete take up is what sets the price.

A metal carport is light and breaks down small. A wood carport with shingles and a slab coming out is a much bigger load. That's why we don't quote over the phone from a description.

We come out, look at it, and give you a firm price before anything is touched. The estimate is free. Most carport jobs get scheduled within a few days of that visit, and plenty are finished in one morning.

One thing we'd suggest: if your carport's already bent, don't wait for winter. A heavy, wet snow or one of our big spring wind storms is what finishes off a lot of tired carports in the Treasure Valley. Cleaning up a collapsed one is slower and messier than taking down one that's still standing.

As for where it all goes, metal frames and roof panels usually head to a scrap recycler. Clean wood gets recycled when we can manage it. Whatever's left makes the trip to the landfill.

Bottom line

Carport removal is one of the quicker demolition jobs we do, but the details matter. Is it metal or wood? Is it attached to the house? And what do you want left on the ground when it's gone?

Sort those out and the rest is easy. If you'd like someone to come take a look, call us at (208) 593-2877. We'll walk it with you, give you a firm price, and you can decide from there. No pressure either way.